I can't stop cringing at Pepsi's latest Coke-bashing campaign

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Look, Pepsi, we've been through this. The brand has an insatiable appetite for poking fun at Coca-Cola in its ads, which only serves to emphasise its position as the underdog. And while Coke's recent resurrection of one of its iconic campaigns might not be the most original advertising move we've seen in recent years, Pepsi's attempt to parody crosses the cheeky threshold, comfortably entering cringe territory.
Coca-Cola's bottles and cans currently feature various first names, suggesting you might want to 'share a Coke' with a friend. And now Pepsi has released it's own take on the campaign, swapping out people's names with those of foods. The kinds of foods, such as 'Burgers' or 'Tacos', that you might 'share' a Pepsi with. Funny, right? Put it this way, we've seen cleverer print ads from the Coke rival.
"This summer, why share a cola with some 'dude' or 'pal' when you can enjoy an even better pairing when you 'Share a Pepsi' with your favourite food?" Reads a press release from Pepsi. "Whether at the ballpark, poolside, or gathered around the grill, limited-edition 'Share a Pepsi' bottles are now here to remind fans how PEPSI® enhances the flavour of popular foods like burgers and carne asada to pizza, hot dogs, tamales, and wings. Because when it comes to flavor, Pepsi isn't just an option; it's the essential sip to help savor every bite – making Pepsi and summer eats this season's hottest pair."
'Punching up' can often make for an amusing ad, and we've seen plenty of clever examples from brands with famous rivals, such as Burger King's swipes against McDonald's. We've even seem some very strong examples from Pepsi, such as its recent 'hidden logos' ads. But these worked because the idea was truly original – Pepsi wasn't simply repackaging a rival's own concept and slapping its own typeface on it. Simply replacing Coca-Cola's first names with the names of foods doesn't have the same wit. At worst, it just feels like a sadder version of Coke's campaign, encouraging you to share your brown carbonated beverage alone with some fast food, rather than with, you know, a friend.
The galling thing is that Pepsi has shown its own creativity to be firing on all cylinders lately, particularly with its delightfully nostalgic rebrand. But the brand's attempts to co-opt Coca-Cola's own imagery, including last year's misjudged 'tastes OK' campaign, have started to look increasingly desperate of late.

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